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During the Industrial Revolution, factories began releasing pollutants directly into rivers and streams. Chemical waste was released into Ohio's Cuyahoga River and caused it to burst into flames. The waterway became a symbol of how industrial revolution was destroying America's natural resources.
Check out this informational YouTube video to see how much the waterway has improved since then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18JpT61rX6A -
Since 1969, the river in Woburn, Massachusetts has been highly contaminated. People in the area have been known to have a higher risk of leukemia, liver, kidney, prostate, and urinary cancer because of the high chemical content in the water.
Check out this website article about a report that was filed due to leukemia cases rising in Woburn: https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/complaint-filed-on-toxic-pollution-in-woburn.html -
Congress passed the Clean Water Act to reduce water pollution. It establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters.
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The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter was called for to control pollution of the sea by dumping and to encourage regional agreements supplementary to the convention.
Check out this website to read more about the convention: https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/London-Convention-Protocol.aspx -
The Safe Drinking Water Act was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the United States.
Check out this informational website to learn more about the Safe Drinking Water Act and its regulations as you navigate through the website: https://www.epa.gov/sdwa -
The United States Convention on the Law of the Sea was signed with the purpose to lay down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas, establishing rules governing uses of the oceans and their resources.
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Approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil were accidentally dumped into the sea off Alaska's Prince William Sound. It created a 3,000-square-mile oil slick which instantly killed hundreds of thousands of birds, fish, and other wildlife.
Watch this informational YouTube video to see the aftermath of the spill 30 years later: https://youtu.be/5R0a2lY6A-k -
The Plastic Pollution Coalition was founded with the goal of reducing plastic pollution. They endorse taxes on plastic bags, propose the elimination of single use plastics, and emphasize producer responsibility for the end-life of their products.
Here is their website to learn about them and their goals: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org
Here is a link to videos where the founder is talking about the use of plastics and their coalition: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/press -
The Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 workers and leading to the worst oil spill and environmental catastrophe in the United States history.
Check out this informational website to read more about the oil spill and watch the videos to learn more: https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill -
Ocean voyages conducted a 30 day expedition to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This patch is twice the size of the state of Texas and is a semi-permanent floating island of plastic trash circulated by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.
Watch this short video to hear more details about what the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is: https://youtu.be/0EyaTqezSzs
