The Industrial Revolution changed modern life in an untold number of ways. Unfortunately, not all of them were positive, including the large-scale production of pollution. While it may not be instantly noticeable in some areas, that doesn't change the fact that our world has been irreparably altered by all of the toxic substances that have now made it into our air, soil, and groundwater.
10. Toxic Byproducts From Computer Waste Are Polluting Third World Countries
Every year, we buy tons of iPhones, laptop computers, and other handy gadgets, throwing out the old to make room for the new. Many people give their old computers to donation centers with the hope that someone else will at least get some use out of them, but this practice actually creates an immense amount of electronic waste, most of which gets imported to third world countries. Dumping electronic garbage in another country is illegal, but these companies make use of a very clever legal loophole.
As far as the law is concerned, it is perfectly okay to donate computers and other technological devices as long as they are reusable or can be refurbished in some way. However, companies are often sending huge piles of stuff that is impossible to refurbish, depending on enforcers of the regulations to be too busy to catch on. This abuse has created a brand new industry in Ghana, a country that receives more than its fair share of toxic waste. The computers contain lead, cadmium, arsenic, and other dangerous substances, but they also contain small amounts of precious metals like gold. People, including children, melt the computers down to get to the precious metals. Of course, this means breathing in horribly toxic fumes and polluting the air.
9. All Sorts Of Nasty Things Are Dumped Down The Sink
People like to joke about the horrors that lurk in sewers, but one danger that has gone under the radar is prescription medication. That's not to say that people are dumping pills down the sink en mass—a significant amount actually passes in human waste. Scientists have been aware of the problem for a few decades and certainly don't think it's going well.
While waste management operations try to downplay the dangers, many scientists believe they have seen evidence that some medications found in water, especially oral contraceptives, could already be having harmful effects. Scientists found mutated fish with both sex organs in the Potomac and believed this might be linked to oral contraceptives that have polluted our drinking water. They are especially concerned because, even though the levels are very low, it doesn't take much for hormones to affect the human body in a significant way.
Studies have also found large amounts of various antidepressants in our tap water, and scientists worry about its long-term effects. They tested it on fish, who started mutating like crazy and showing signs of neurological disorders. To make matters worse, the systems in place at water treatment facilities don't really have a way to remove any of these contaminants, so it will likely only continue to build up.
8. Mercury Poisoning Is A Global Crisis
You have probably heard that the EPA recommends cutting down your daily fish intake, especially large fish, due to the small amounts of methyl mercury that build up in the animals. As you also know, mercury is incredibly toxic to humans—breaking a thermometer that contains mercury still leads to rooms being cleared and specialists being called in to clean up the mess. What many people don't know, however, is how the mercury ended up in the water in the first place.
Most modern mercury contamination is caused by coal power plants, which flush the neurotoxin into the water. Lakes, rivers, oceans—none are immune to its grasp. Not only is mercury poisoning our water and fish, it looks like the pollution may actually increase as time goes on. Unfortunately, while world leaders have talked about the problem, the treaties discussed are only concerned with limiting the amount of pollution that's slowly poisoning the entire globe's water supply, not actually stopping it. In fact, some proposed limits only extend to how much mercury each plant may produce, which would allow a loophole for countries to just build more plants.
